Reprieve from Arathi
by Reyz
Summary: Reyz takes a reprieve from Arathi Basin.


Reprieve from Arathi

His mail boots jingled softly as he walked into the Southshore tavern. The air thick with ale and good cheer. few of the patrons turned to watch him as he entered, despite his full battle regalia, such things have become common place theses days with the battle in the basin to the east.

with the undead defilers recruiting more and more for the effort to control the basin and its precious recourses, the Highlanders were forced to respond in kind, calling on the brave adventurers of the alliance to fight for them.

Reyz heeded that call. the fights had appealed to him, he was a veteran of the Gulch in Warsong and yearned for a new field on which to brink glory to the alliance, thought the constantly growing toll of dead was enough to drive Reyz mad, he had seen countless allies fall in battle because of stupid mistakes, and the prowess of the horde grow day by day. Many of the veterans of other battles have already retired from the battles and those that haven't are close, leaving the field open to others to claim their fame... and their death.

but that was a thought for another time. Reyz walked up to the bar and ordered some food and ale. he waited a few minutes for the cook to dish it all out and pour his mug, then accepted his food and walked to a near by table to sit down and enjoy his meal. Slipping his gloves off and setting them on the table next to his food, he picked up the drum stick and bit into it hungrily, finishing almost the entire piece of meat before even touching his mug of ale. After taking a long draught he finished up his meal before rocking back in his chair and placing his feet up on the table, sipping his ale as he looked around at the other patrons of the inn.

He had been commanding the forces of the basin for the past ten day, and was taking a few days off to get some proper rest.

He was going to head back to Ironforge the next day and re-supply properly… there was only so much a small village such as Southshore could provide. He watched a ew of the patrons enter and leave the tavern before finally finishing his ale and placing it back on the table as he got up to walk to the inn keeper.

"got any rooms available?" Reyz asked.

:aye, I've got a few, how long will ye be stayin'" the inn keeper replied.

"just for the night"

"up the stairs and the first room on the right" the inn keeper said, motioning to the stairs on the far side of the room.

"thanks" Reyz replied before walking back to the table and picking up his gloves. Slipping them back on he walked out of the inn and over to where his Storm Saber and Artemis were curled up.

He opened his bag and gave Artemis and his 'Saber a chunk of meat, patting each gently on the head before slinging his spear and bags over his shoulder and tucking his helm under the other arm.

He turned around and took a look out at the Hillsbrad foothills, growing darker as the day turned to night.

Reyz briskly walked back into the inn and nodded at the inn keeper as he walked up the stairs and into the room designated as his for the night.

Tossing his helmet onto the bed he gently set down his bags next to the only table in the room and leaned his spear next to that before walking to the window, looking down on the docks.

He yawned sleepily before turning around to regard the helm laying on the bed. After a moment, he walked over and picked it up and carried it over to the table, as he collapsed into the chair he placed the helm on the far edge and bent down to pull some tools from his bag. He set them on the table before pulling out 3 large tomes. One held his alchemical recopies, the other two his engineering schematics.

He flipped through the first one and, not finding what he was looking for, closed it and set it on the floor next to his bags. Opening the second one and flipping through a few pages yielded the schematic he was looking for.

He reached into one of the pouches on his wait and pulled out a pair of engineering goggles. Slipping them on he peered down at the schematic's tiny text and examined the drawings. It was a schematic he had gotten from the Goblin Engineering Korporation for renewing his membership. It was the directions on how to construct a pet bombling. After pulling out a pen and some ink from his bags and some blank parchment he quickly but neatly scribbled down a list of the materials he would need, and how many of each. He let the ink dry as he put the pen and ink bottle back into his bags before placing the paper in the book and closing it. He pulled off the goggles and slipped them back into the pouch he had fashioned for them on his waist before putting the 3 tomes back into their bag and slipping his tools into the pockets he had for them on his leather tunic under the chain mail vest. He stood up and unfasoned his belt, draping it over the back of the chair before pulling off his gloves once again and laying them on the table. He reached up to his Pauldrons and un clasped them before sliding them off his shoulders and setting them on the floor beside the table. He slipped out of his chain mail tunic before kicking his boots off at the foot of the bed. He pulled his chain mail pants off, and laid them on the table, along with his tunic on the table. Standing there in his many pocketed leather tunic and pantaloons he used while crafting the many gadgets and potions he knew how to make, he laid down on the bed, not even bothering to crawl under the covers. Soon enough he was sleeping deeply and peacefully.

… the next morning he was awoken by the early morning sun streaming into his window and face. He sat up and stretched, letting out a yawn as he rubbed his eyes awake.

He looked out the window at the docks and noticed that the ship was already here and had begun being unloaded of supplies. Reyz hopped up off the bed and re adjusted his leather outfit before putting on his chain mail tunic and pants. As he picked up his bags and set them on the chair he glanced out the window once more… he decided he would have time for a quick meal before having to get on the boat, so he quickly strapped his shoulder armor on, slipped his boots on and fashioned his belt around his waste before slipping his mail gloves into his belt as he slung his spear and bags over his shoulder before grabbing his helm and unbolting the door. He walked down the stairs and out the front of the inn over to his 2 cats, curled up on a patch of grass next to the inn watching the sailors and dockworkers casually. He dropped his bags on the ground before petting each cat on its head before once again picking up his bags and securing them to the back of his Storm Saber.

After he secured them he opened the top one and laid his spear across it before closing once again securing the spear. He put his helm on the saddle horn before turning to walk back into the inn, motioning for Artemis to follow. As he walked into the inn again, his cat in tow, he looked for the inn keeper and found him behind the bar, wiping off the counter. As he approached the man looked up and quickly finished wiping off the counter before putting the rag underneath and asking, "is there something I can get you good elf?"

"yes, I would like some fish, bread, cheese and some juice."

"coming right up!" he replied hurrying back into the kitchen.

"could you make that four fish?" Reyz shouted to the back.

The inn keeper poked his head around the corner, "Four fish coming right up."

A few moment later he came back around to the bar with a tray in his hand that had a mug of juice, a half-loaf of bread, a few hunks of cheese and four fish. "Would you like to pay your bill now?" he asked when he set it down.

Reyz nodded as he grabbed the fish and handed them to Artemis who took them in her mouth and turned to leave the inn and take them to Maelstrom, Reyz's Stormsaber mount outside.

"57 silver pieces for the room and 2 meals" he replied matter-of-factly

Reyz reached into his coin purse and pulled out 60 silver pieces and handed them to the innkeeper thanking him before taking his food and walking to a table near a window facing the docks.

As he sat down and took a bite of bread he looked out the window and saw the dock workers beginning to load the boat with trade goods and other commodities.

He swallowed his bite of bread, took a bite of cheese and reclined in the chair, watching to workers perform their duties…

… as he finished his breakfast he got up and nodded at the inn keeper as he walked out of the inn and over to his 2 cats, both of which had long finished their fish and were lounging in the sun.

Reyz walked up and unhooked his spear from the back of the big cat and slung it over his shoulder before taking out his gun and slinging it over the other shoulder. He looked over the saddle and harness and, seeing everything was in order, got onto the back of the StormSaber before rousing the cat from its lounging with a soft kick to the flanks. As he got it padding off towards the docked boat Artemis gave a long yawn before rising to follow.

As Reyz neared the docks he yelled towards the nearest dock worker, "Hail good sir, is your captain around?"

The dock worker straightened and looked around obviously not expecting the attention given to him before stammering a reply, "hes-hes up on the deck sir"

"thank you" reyz replied nodding in his direction before turning his saber to where the gang way was.

As reyz neared the boat he saw a man wearing an admiral's hat sitting on the high deck, overseeing the loading of the cargo onto his ship. He noticed the night elf on the saber with the frost saber in close tow and walks over to the railing nearest the trio.

"Hail good Night-Elf, can I assist you in any way?" he yelled down.

"Aye Captain, I am interested in transport to Menathil harbor, would I be able to ride along on your ship?"

"if you don't mind crates as company then you are more than welcome, this here is a supply ship so it wont have the most comfortable of lodgings" he answered.

"Aye, not a problem sir, permission to come aboard?" reyz asked

"Permission granted son, get yer tails on ship, we are about ready to depart" he said before turning back to watch the crates of cargo being loaded on.

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Author's Note: this is started a while ago, but kinda lost intrest in. if anyone likes it i'll finish it.

so, as always: R & R & R &R (Read & Review & Rest & Relax).


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